Let’s hear some loving for Stephens and Cedric
As scapegoats go, Jack Stephens and Cedric Soares probably attract more than their fair share of attention from Southampton fans. “Uncommitted”, “lazy”, “careless” and “error prone” are all examples of criticism levelled at the pair this season. There have been notable mistakes committed this season, although the duo would rightly argue these have not stemmed exclusively from them.
By contrast Jan Bednarek, the young Polish starlet, has been positively immune from criticism from some quarters, despite himself having contributed towards the plethora of errors that the St Mary’s faithful have endured this season. Bednarek has always played with a grace and class which has occasionally masked the mistakes caused by his inexperience.
At Leicester, the back four (and McCarthy) were superb – disciplined, industrious and most pleasingly, ready to sacrifice themselves for their brothers in arms and the common cause. Some will argue that VAR came to their aid on several occasions but the correct decisions made with the aid of technology vindicated the fact the defence held their shape and line perfectly. Naturally they will be disappointed to have conceded but better teams than Southampton have been unlocked by Vardy’s pace this season.
Since that watershed moment back in October, Hasenhuttl has reverted to his preferred formation and sought to bring stability to the starting line-up. The main beneficiaries of this have been Cedric and Stephens who were previously battling with Valery, Danso, Yoshida and Vestergaard for their respective starting berths. Both have risen to the occasion magnificently.
Cedric will continue to attract criticism from his ill timed comments about leaving at the end of the season. The Portuguese right back will never be the tallest and he will always annoy with his propensity to cut back rather than cross first time. Yet he has bought into the revival as much as any other player since October and on current form, deserves his position through merit rather than the fact there is little competition. Whisper it quietly but would it not be worth looking to offer an extension to his contract based on his recent performances?
As for Stephens, there has always been a sense that there is a decent ball playing centre back in there. His tendency to play beautifully but only to make unexplainable and costly gaffes has always been his undoing. Most supporters will remember when he was first thrown into the fray under Claude Puel following the injury crisis. He looked an outstanding prospect, calm and seemingly ready programmed to play out from the back.
He has lost his way at times, perhaps through a lack of confidence and a failure to nail down a first team place. Over the last nine games, Stephens has looked a player with a point to prove and is thriving on the confidence his manager has shown in him. There will always be the odd error; that is an unfortunate and inevitable consequence for those centre backs brave enough to attempt to play out from the back (John Stones being the perfect example).
As comebacks go, Stephens has risen from arguably fifth choice centre back to one of the first names on the team sheet, with a few even touting him as an outsider for an England call up. There is much to be admired about Stephens and Cedric’s contribution to the settled back four in place.